Sunday, March 29, 2020
Types of Carbon Sequestration
Introduction The world is suffering from effects of environmental damage; as people exploit natural resources, the environment is damaged. Other than overexploiting or misusing natural environment, individuals and companies are disposing their wastes in appropriately resulting to further damage to the environment.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Types of Carbon Sequestration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Environment conservers have advocated for different methods of protecting the environment and restoring its natural form; the approach used include use of conventions and protocols that recommend and commit countries to abide to the recommendations. The effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were noted in early 20th century, the realization resulted to the signing of Kyoto Protocol by 37 industrialized countries and the European community. One method that has been advocated for to reduce the effect s of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, is carbon sequestration (Baker, 2006). This paper discuses carbon sequestration in relation to its environmental impact and its potential to resolve environmental problems. Carbon sequestration According to Wilson and Gerard in their book called â€Å"Carbon Capture and Sequestration,†carbon sequestration refers to geo-engineering process through which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and deposited into a reservoir. In lay-man’s language it is the process through which carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed to clean up the air then used for other economic activities. Other than removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the carbon sequestration engages in capturing, storage and enhancing natural biogeochemical cycling of carbon. In whichever the approach taken, carbon sequestration aims at cleaning the atmosphere that the right amount of carbon remain (Ernesto Zedillo, 2008). When carbon has been controlled, the world atmospheric challenges from global warming or climatic changes are controlled; carbon sequestration has been crowned as the best method through which nations and the world in general can slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases, which are released by burning fossil fuels. The processes of carbon sequestration can be divided into three main ways through which they take place as chemical process, biological, and physical sequestration (Faust, 2008). Biological carbon sequestration When adopting bio-sequestration, the process involves having natural products that can use carbon dioxide in the air or ones that can store the gas; the process involves the storage of carbon in forests, soils, bogs, in ocean ecosystems, among other natural users of carbon dioxide.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The move approaches reductio n of carbon dioxide in two main approaches; restoring the natural form of the environment and adopting production mechanisms that does not harm the environment. Human beings have been blamed of damaging the eco-system, through processes like degrading soils, cutting down forests, polluting and acidifying the ocean, when the ecosystem has been damaged, the effect is a world with unpredictable climatic conditions and global warming is real. With carbon sequestration, domestics and industrial users of environmental products are encouraged not to damage the ecosystem; they are advised to use best resources management approach which includes using biological fertilizers instead of artificial ones (Faust, 2008). When using increased organic inputs to farm soils, and low-tillage farming systems the agricultural sector is fighting the effects or the growth of global warming. Other than reducing the effects of global warming, it has been proved that organic farming is more economical and lea ds to higher produce. In oceans, the oceans are fertilized, again using natural fertilizers commonly referred as organic fertilizers, to grow ocean plants like algae. The approach of bio-sequestration aims at improving the natural ecosystem operations; plants generally use carbon dioxide to make their own food, thus when they have been increased, the usage of carbon will be higher resulting to a clean environment. An article in Science Journal 2004 stated â€Å"As well as enhancing food security, carbon sequestration [in soils] has the potential to offset fossil fuel emissions by 0.4 to 1.2 gigatons of carbon per year, or 5 to 15% of the global fossil-fuel emissions†(Chiras, 2009). The diagram below shows how forests or plants can control carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: Chart 1 Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Types of Carbon Sequestration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Physical sequestrat ion Physical sequestration is also referred to as Geological Sequestration or underground carbon injection; under the atmosphere purification method, carbon dioxide is stored in underground reservoirs and in ocean bodies. The areas that the carbon produced in different production places goes to include deep in the ocean, layers of porous rock that are saturated with brine commonly called saline formations, and depleted oil and gas reservoirs. The belief is that these areas had been able to contain hydrocarbons for millions of years thus they have the capability of containing carbon dioxide for such long times. When using the approach, focus shifts on redirecting carbon produced in different production processes to areas that it will not affect current generation (Oberthà ¼r Ott,1999). When the above approach has been adopted, the main concern of the users is to ensure that the rate of carbon emission in the atmosphere is reduced. With reduced atmospheric concentration of carbon, the atmosphere is clean for better living. With clean environment, issues like global warming and changing climatic conditions becomes issues of the past. Chemical carbon sequestration When using chemical carbon sequestration, it involves adopting some chemical reaction that can assist to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and putting it in good use. Chemical reactions can be used to tap carbon in CO2 form to make stable carbonate mineral forms that can be used for industrial use or are less harmful to the environment; the process in chemical terms is called carbon sequestration by mineral-carbonation or mineral sequestration. Natural environment contains resources in an un-exploited manner; this gives human beings the opportunity to exploit them and cater for their needs; the challenge facing the world is over exploitation of the resources. The rate of effectiveness that current generation adopts determines whether the world will be able to feed its population and affects developments of current and future generations; with the realization of need to feed current generation and future ones, sustainable development environmental management approach was developed. Sustainable development is an exploitation pattern that advocates for optimal resources utilization by current generation without limiting the level at which future generations will meet theirs. According to the method of exploitation, resources are classified as exhaustible and non-exhaustible; current generation should almost aim at preserving the exhaustible resources.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is ethical and morally upright to produce ones products but does not limit the rate at which another person will produce his; with carbon sequestration current generation is ensuring that they have made their production but not affected climate patterns or facilitated global warming. The future generation will find the atmosphere saline for their activities and their climatic patterns will be predictable for sustained development. Some of the resources that nature has provided to human beings include climate, minerals, fertile soils, water, animals, air, wind and atmosphere among others; these resources are at the risk of being damaged by uncontrolled carbon in the atmosphere, with carbon sequestration such effects will be reduced. When exploiting resources in a sustainable manner, it involves use of technology and taking measures to ensure that efficiency is upheld. Other than taking care of future generation, sustainable development theory aims at meeting current generations ne eds; when the level of carbon has been controlled using carbon sequestration methods, human beings are able to earn a decent living where they can feed themselves adequately (Chiras, 2009). According to IISD and ICTSD article on sustainable development the current world environmental damage has resulted from human activities and actions; however if the generation has the will, they can undertake their activities and not limit the level at which future generation will undertake theirs. According to the article, the diversity that different countries have on the resources has enhanced global trade. Over exploitation and overuse of these natural sources have contributed to environmental damage, people are utilizing available resources at a fast rate than they the nature can restore them. With carbon sequestration, the ecosystem will be enhanced that nature will restore its natural form. Sustainable development theory advocators are of the opinion that governments and international bodi es have a vital role to play to develop sustainable developmental measures; this can be done through developing policies and mechanism to conserve the environment. Environment conservation is of global concern where collaboration of all parties involved is required to conserve and restore the environment; carbon sequestration has been tested and provided to have double effect on the people, reducing carbon dioxide and increasing food production. Conserving the environment does not take forced policies but they are policies that the population can live with effectively; this call for continuous trainings of the people and ensuring legislations to see the enforcement of the policies has been enacted (Wilson Gerard, 2007). The chart below shows the integrations of suitable development: Chart 2 Conservation ethics Developers of conservation ethics are of the opinion that it is ethical and morally right for people to conserve the environments they are living in; the main advocacy of t he ethical theory is that the environment is of great importance to current generation and the future ones. Again nature is believed to have solutions to all human needs thus conserving nature using different methods is the right approach to better live hood. Advocators of conservation ethics are also referred to as shallow ecology approach as they emphasis on preservation of the environment. Carbon sequestration is seen as one method through which the world can conserve the goodies that nature provides; it does so by limiting emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere thus reducing the rate of growth of global warming and changes in climatic patterns. It is under conservation theory that Kyoto protocol and the three agreements reached in Rio in 1992 were based; Kyoto protocol was ratified in Japan, on 11 December 1997 aimed to be fully implemented by 16 February 2005. The protocol aimed at reducing the rate of emissions from production; developed by United Nations Framework Conve ntion on Climate Change, it targeted ensuring that the natural state of the environment has been restored and maintained. Kyoto was ratified by 37 industrialized countries and European community; they had their main aim as ensuring that emission of green house gasses was reduced by 5% below their level in 1990 by the end of 2010. Carbon sequestration is seen as one framework or approach that the Kyoto protocol bases on; the protocol first appreciate that the world need producing to feed its population, thus the best that can be done is to ensure that producing do take place but any damage as a result has been mitigated. The three agreements reached in Rio in 1992 noted that among the major emitters of green house gasses is burning of fossil fuels; with modern ways of physical Carbon sequestration, carbon emission from fossil fuels can be tapped and stored in a manner that will not pollute the environment. The Rio Agreement in line with Kyoto protocol recommended that if each country was to reduce its level of emission, then global warming could be reduced; one way that the agreement recommended for reducing greenhouse effects is removing the wasteful gases from the environment. To ensure that objectives of Rio agreements and Kyoto have been fulfilled some measures were seen to be effective; one of the ways is adoption of clean technology, this is a technology that does not emit or emits minimal green house gases. Such are approaches that have been supported by carbon sequestration (Kheshgi, 1995). Humanist theories of environmental ethics Under the ethical theory, moral status and ethical worth, such as sentience of human beings is put to task. According to the theory human being bear the largest blame for damage of the environment; however if people can change their perception and way of doing things, there is hope that the world can restore its natural state. Humanist theories include domestics and industries to come up with the right mechanisms through whic h they can meet their individual or corporate needs without destroying the environment. Some of the strategies advocated for include the use of technology and organic forms of doing things like farming. In organizations, humanist theorists are of the opinion that decisions made by organizations have an effect on the environment the organization operates in, if an organization fails to incorporate the effect it has on the environment in its corporate decisions, then its limiting its going on concern philosophy (Batjes, 1996). According to action-based theories of morality, an action is considered ethical or unethical after considering its outcomes; thus when making decisions organizations need to be â€Å"human†enough that they make such decisions that will not have negative effect on the environment. When using carbon sequestration the focus is on ensuring that the level of carbon in the atmosphere has been maintained at optimal levels; an optimal level is attained when the effects of the carbon is not negative in any form. The chart below summaries the integration of ethics and environmental conservation: Chart 3 Conclusion and recommendations With growth in world population and growing advocacy on diversity, there is need for collaboration of governments, international bodies, private businesses, individuals, and organizations to conserve the environment. Conservation takes the form of ensuring that the natural state of the environment has been restored as well as ensuring that there is no further damage to the environment. Carbon sequestration entails some simple and complex approaches that people can adopt to preserve conserve and restore the sanity of the environment. The environmental approach uses the notion that environmental conservation is the responsibility of every society member as everyone has a role to play. For example farmers in most cases are regarded as people of low income, however if they continue using fertilizers in their farms , they are risking environmental damage. However they can contribute to slowing the growth in global warming and changing climatic conditions by practicing organic farming. Other than the low earners in an economy, carbon sequestration also targets the well to do, it involves in processes like physical carbon sequestration which are expensive but effective procedures. From an ethical angle, it is ethical and morally upright to have generations who can enjoy the sanity of the environment. When living in a world with pure atmosphere, human beings are less likely to suffer disease related to unfriendly living conditions. On the other hand, they will be able to produce high from the facilitated operation of eco-system. Carbon sequestration aims at ensuring that the atmosphere has the right amounts of carbon to facilitate the natural operating of eco-system and slow global warming. Carbon sequestration is a pillar of sustainable development. Sustainable development looks into the needs o f current generation and future generation; however it can only be attained if human kind at individual, corporate, government, and international level recognize that they have a role in environmental conservation. Governments, organizations and individuals should embrace carbon sequestration as it will facilitate attainment of sustable development. References Baker, S. (2006). Sustainable development. London: Routledge. Batjes, H. (1996). Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. European Journal of Soil Science ,47 (2), 151–163. Chiras, D.(2009). Environmental Science; spotlight on sustainable development. New York: Jones Bartlett publishers. Ernesto, Z. Zedillo, E. (2008). Global warming: looking beyond Kyoto. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Faust, R.(2008). Global Warming: Greenhouse Gases and the Ozone Layer. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Kheshgi, H. (1995). Sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide by increasing ocean alkalinity. Energy, 20 ( 9), 915–922. Oberthà ¼r, S. Ott, H.(1999). The Kyoto Protocol: international climate policy for the 21st century. New York: Springer. Wilson, E., Gerard, D. (2007). Carbon Capture and Sequestration. New York: Blackwell Publishing Limited. This research paper on Types of Carbon Sequestration was written and submitted by user Coen Carrillo to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Analyze the goals Essays
Analyze the goals Essays Analyze the goals Essay Analyze the goals Essay Analyze the goals and objectives using the mission statement as the basis.The Mission statement of Microsoft is as given below:â€Å"At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible†The above statement tells about the intent of the company. For fulfilling the above mission, Microsoft needs to do specific tasks which are specific and also can be measure. These are known as goals. Finally to achieve these goals, the company should use certain tactics which are classified as objectives.Looking at the above mission statement it can be said that one of the goals of Microsoft is to be a well-known global player, who would like to help people and businesses from all walks of life. In addition, the company wishes to make people attain their own goals by making them utilize their full potential. To attain this goal Microsoft set its objectives towards more effective worldwide sales and distribution network. In addition to this, the marketing strategy of the company should be designed such that people living anywhere in the world are aware of the company and its products and services. The entire system should be backed by an excellent customer support service which can take real-time feedback of these people.There are some common values that company that wishes to help people throughout the globe, should possess. Some of them are maintaining quality in products, transparency in processes, promptness and efficiency of customer service and concern over environmental issues arising directly or indirectly due to the products and services.Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, taking into consideration all the environmental factorsStrengthsa.                  Due to the developmental activities taking place in many developing an d third world countries, the company has a very good chance of developing newer markets. Combined with the excellent brand image the company has, this is one of the biggest opportunity and asset for the company at this stageb.                 The presence of Microsoft in multiple countries has given it a very wide exposure and capability to deal with people belonging to various cultures. This could be extremely useful while the company expands to a newer market or newer countryc.                  The market of mobile and handheld devices is booming. With some strategic alliances which Microsoft could gain a string foothold in this field. The company’s dominant international presence in the PC market can be a big asset in forging such an alliance.d.                 Even while the handheld device market is on a rise, the desktop systems market is still very strong. The tried and tested software development process ensures rapid development and updates of the existing products. The experience of the company in this market also proves beneficial at the time of product innovatione.                  Users rely on buying software from a company that is well-known and provides excellent customer support. Microsoft scores well on these issues thereby getting customer loyalty and this increasing revenuesf.                   The superior technical image of the company attracts highly-skilled professional who increase the quality of labor force and in turn help in developing superior quality productsg.                 The company’s strategy for expansion is very aggressive which makes it a very formidable competitor. Microsoft is also well known for its large number of acquisitions which help it in expanding the product portfolio and also control the competition.(Hafner, Hibbert p. 1, 3)Weaknessesa.                  While the company enjoys top position in almost every area of software products, its biggest threat is the open-source software. The quality of these software considered by many, to be much better than Microsoft’s products which is not a very good signb.                 The company’s products of late have been focusing on merely software upgrades. The few new software packages that have been released in the market like Microsoft Visio has garnered pretty lukewarm responses.c.                  While the employees of the company are well-paid and are of a superior quality, the massive number of updates and installation deadline have le d to high attrition rated.                 Many users feel that the products have a single focus and do not usually work well when installed / combined with other products.e.                  While the company enjoys very good image in the market, the reputation has been often threatened due to its entanglement in antitrust and permatemps Vizcaino litigation. The reputation has been further threatened by the fact that the company is very cut-throat in competition and plays very dirty towards its competitors by stifling their growth in all possible kinds of waysf.                   The repeated forays of the company in the wireless market have proved to be pretty disappointingg.                 The massive structure of the company which is essentially decentralized in na ture has led to the company having major problems with employee management.h.                 Software piracy of commercial and consumer applications software on a global scale threatens revenue streams(Hafner, Hibbert p. 2, 4)Recommend a strategic model for the organization. Justify the choice of the model. Discuss a global strategy for this organizationStrategic modeling for an organization must be done taking care of the mission, goals and objectives of the company. The organizational structure of the company defines what present focus of the company is and paves its way towards achieving long terms strategic goals. The modeling means grouping of the organization into various clusters and their modes of interaction with each other. In addition an organization has to develop an information system to meet the inter- and intra- organizational demand for information processing (Burton, Obel p. 10)The present organizational structure of Microsoft is a decentralized organization which is falling into professional bureaucracy and red tape. To make the organization effective, the structure should be matrix like with a functional base. While there is no need for centralizing the company, a little less formalization would be very beneficial for the internal environment. Being a very big organization automatically means that the company structure is complicated enough. Hence, efforts should be made for more effective communication by cutting of channels (Burton, Obel p. 290-293)Microsoft needs to continue its strategy of building strategic partners across the globe. Increasing the size of its own company should be taken one step at a time, so as to give the management as well as its employees to adjust to the various necessary changes. Forging alliances would make sure that the company stays within the competition and not much of the company structure is disturbed, which is seen to be a very common activity in the co mpany (Menzefricke p. 5). The strategic alliances should be with companies in the newer countries who could act as distribution centers. The company should also start actively foraying in the mobile and handheld device market by actively forging alliances. The focus here should be on product innovation for bringing out quality products, instead of just consolidating the market. This would enable the company in getting quality products which can then be aggressively marketed.Identify the key performance indicators to measure the performanceKey Performance Indicators are used for measuring the performance of each of the defined objectives. Using this, a process can be analyzed based on cause and effect, which can be used to implement strategies having built-in metrics to track and measure the performance.Based on the goals and objectives of Microsoft, its KPIs can be figured out. As the company wishes to grow throughout the world one of the KPI could be market growth. This can be furt her detailed by taking the market growth for each country group or each country. The rate of increase in the market share is yet another KPI, as are the sales or revenue growth rates. Hence, the company should take the sales target combined with the market share and make an analysis of the newer markets entered in a fiscal year to measure its true performance rating. As improving the quality of customer support is also an objective, one of the KPIs could be also be higher rate of customer satisfaction achieved in a given period. This can also be further divided into the percentage of returning customers, response time taken on an average, customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction indices etc. (Woods, Joyce p. 99)Establish the information requirements and hence strategic information systems to give a competitive edge to the companyThe world of business has always been ruled by information. With the advent of digital techniques the technology has advanced at a very fast rate. This as e ffected the way in which information is passed between various channels in business. IT based information systems have become the order of the day. The integration of business with IT ensures many advantages for the company adopting the digital mode of communication (Dobrev p. 7, 9). The major impact is on the enhancement of products, its life cycle, reduction in management levels and ultimately reduction the cost. The company can effectively manage its internal environment and concentrate its external environment. As a company expands the business goals of the managers change. This brings about an increase in the complexity of tasks performed by the managers leading from a structured world to an adhoc unstructured one. Integrating IT with businesses helps in simplifying the process, hence providing for a more effective working environment (Galliers, Leidner p.1, 2)IT inherently depends on systems. While working with IT companies should not only focus on its competitors but should a lso take into consideration its various present and potential collaborators which whom a strategic alliance or partnership could be forged. A classic example is the alliance between Intel and Microsoft which gave both of them a massive increase in sales and revenues along with the lion’s share of the market (Shapiros, Varian p.10). As can be seen this gives a much needed competitive edge to the company intending to employ Strategic Information Systems within the organization.Discuss the ethical and social issues associated with usage of IS/IT in the organization.The emergence of IS/IT systems have brought about newer ways of passage of information and also newer rules to ensure that the information that is passed is authorized and correct. The major problem seen with the software industry is the piracy of the software packages. While many efforts are made to curb this yet the problem seems to lie wit users who do not think that it is a crime to use software without proper aut horizations.The other issue is social in nature. There is a complete profile available of most of the people in the developed people available on the internet. The security when breached causes a breach in the personal data which was heretofore known only to select few. Many people are not comfortable with this scenario and the growing number of internet crimes does not help the situation either.Microsoft faces both the types of issues within its organization. To tackle these issues an attempt should be made to create awareness among people about the nature of their faults related to the software field.Suggest how customer relations could be improved with the usage of strategic systemsCustomer relation is an important aspect for any business organization. In case of smaller business units, the relations are closer knit and personal. The customer-relation process is hence closely monitored and any mistakes are easily found and rectifies. Larger organizations have trouble in maintaini ng customer relations at the same level as the smaller businesses, and this problem increases proportional to the size of the project (Knox p. 9). For global organizations like Microsoft with a dominating presence in almost every country that uses computers and software, the problem is even more acute. Any system used for this purpose in addition to providing inputs for increasing customer satisfaction must also have the additional features of being integrated with the entire system and also have economy of scale.For maintaining the huge database of customers, 100 million of which are in US alone, Microsoft relies on high-end software tools and technology to manage the customer relations across the globe. With sophisticated tools like MS SQL Server 2000, the company can process up to 2 million customer records per day. For getting a comprehensive view of its vast client network Microsoft has designed and deployed data warehouse (Microsoft p. 2-3). This system is used to improve cust omer satisfaction and increase the customer loyalty. The tools can be used to keep in touch with each customer helping the company serve them better. The tool also helps all the units of the company serve their customers in a similar way. This is helpful as the company has a highly decentralized structure with as many as 60 subsidiaries with different niche databases and sizes. Also each customer can be a part of multiple databases, which helps in having a complete profile of the individual customer, helping the company to cater to each specific customer. Finally having a common tool also standardizes the entire system throughout the entire organization (Microsoft p. 6-14).
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